Conservative Candidate Left Off Ballot as Election Officials Cite Limited Authority Over Signature Fraud
Republican Lt. Gov. candidate Anne Brensley faces ballot exclusion after consultant delivered forged signatures, exposing gaps in Massachusetts election oversight as clerks flagged concerns but state officials could not intervene.
Three town clerks raised forgery concerns about a Republican consultant's signature collection. The Secretary of State's office confirmed it received the warnings but said state law prevents extending the deadline. Anne Brensley, the GOP-endorsed lieutenant governor candidate, now sits 2,500 signatures short of the ballot after hiring the consultant.
Brensley calls it "the largest electoral fraud scandal" in Massachusetts history. She is pursuing legal action against Secretary of State Bill Galvin's office and considering a civil suit against consultant Joe Bronske. Despite missing the September primary ballot, she plans to launch a write-in campaign.
The endorsed candidate won 56 percent of delegate support at the April 25 MassGOP convention. She collected 7,500 legitimate grassroots signatures on her own. Bronske was hired to deliver 6,500 more at $5 each. He turned in fewer than 1,000. The campaign paid approximately $15,000 for the failed service.
"We were under the impression we had 13,000-plus raw signatures," campaign manager Jason Ross told Mass Master List.
The fraud extended beyond Brensley's campaign. Braintree, touted as one of Bronske's primary collection areas, returned only 10 signatures. Three GOP campaigns collectively paid Bronske over $40,000. Attorney General candidate Michael Walsh paid $20,000. Lt. Governor candidate Anne Manning-Martin paid at least $5,650. All three now face ballot access challenges.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin's office informed Brensley that local clerks from Scituate, Hanover, and Rockland flagged signatures with forgery concerns. Galvin's office confirmed "a few local clerks" raised concerns but declined to name the specific towns. Spokesperson Deb O'Malley told the Boston Globe that clerks from three cities and towns reached out about potential fraudulent signatures submitted on behalf of some candidates.
O'Malley said the office lacks authority to extend deadlines because state law sets them.
Massachusetts requires 10,000 signatures for statewide office, among the highest thresholds in the nation. The system forces campaigns to rely on unlicensed professionals with no oversight. Brensley's campaign said ballot access laws "place enormous pressure on grassroots campaigns to rely on expensive professional signature operations that fund political insiders with no real licensing or oversight."
Rhode Island prosecuted its signature forgery case earlier this month. Christopher Cotham pleaded no contest in May 2026. Holly McClaren was sentenced for forging nomination papers in a 2023 campaign. Massachusetts carries similar penalties: up to one year in prison or a $1,000 fine for forging nomination papers. The Plymouth County District Attorney has yet to act against Bronske despite the Secretary of State's office contacting them about possible criminal charges.
"I'm going after the Secretary of State because I hold them responsible for not having a system in place to flag fraudsters and avoid this," Brensley told the Boston Herald. "It is literally their job, according to Massachusetts law, to create a system where there is voter integrity, where it is secured."
The Secretary of State's office has been in touch with the Plymouth County DA regarding possible criminal charges against Bronske. The consultant, owner of Ancestor's Trail Genealogy and former chair of the Weymouth Republican Town Committee, has not responded to requests for comment from any news outlet.
Brensley's campaign filed 4,058 signatures with the Secretary of State as of May 13. The plan was to submit approximately 4,000 more. The final deadline for town clerks to submit certified signatures is June 2 at 5 p.m. The campaign needs 2,500 valid signatures by that date to qualify.
Harold Hubschman, founder of SignatureDrive.com, told State House News Service he is "unaware of something of this magnitude happening. The process by and large is very clean."
Brensley's campaign argues the system's design creates the vulnerability. Massachusetts' 10,000-signature requirement forces even well-organized grassroots campaigns to hire outside professionals. No licensing or oversight mechanism exists for these signature gatherers. The gap creates opportunities for exploitation.
The consultant claimed progress that never materialized. In an April 30 email to the Brensley campaign, Bronske wrote: "We are officially at 6,203 signatures for Anne Brensley! I project we are going to be turning in a grand total of 7,000 new signatures." He reported receiving $15,000 with $15,000 outstanding, projecting total costs of $35,000.
MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said the party is in "active discussions" with the Secretary of State's office and campaigns involved to "understand the ramifications." She stated: "The MassGOP supports a transparent investigative process moving forward."
Brensley, a 44-year-old Wayland selectwoman and CEO of DevCo North America, won the Republican endorsement with 1,100 delegate votes at the April convention. She raised more than $56,000 for her campaign since launching in September 2025, loaning the effort $25,000 and contributing $29,000 of her own money.
The campaign's lawsuit against Galvin's office seeks additional time to replace fraudulent signatures. Brensley also plans to pursue legal action against Bronske for what she describes as an "unprecedented fraud scheme involving forged nomination papers and fabricated progress reports."
"My campaign isn't over," Brensley said. "There is no way I'm going to allow this to continue to happen in Massachusetts. So, if I need to run on this issue of voter integrity, then I plan on running on that issue because I'm seeing the massive flaw in it."
The case reveals how institutional design prevents fraud prevention at the point of detection. Town clerks identified forgery concerns. The Secretary of State's office confirmed receipt of those concerns. The system provides no mechanism to remediate the fraud or extend deadlines for victims.
"But, it also makes me nervous for any upcoming election because how do we know the mail-in ballots aren't being abused the same way?" Brensley asked, connecting the signature fraud to broader concerns about election security.
"The system will continue to go this way if I don't force the DA to take action and force the Secretary of State to take action," she concluded. The June 2 deadline approaches with no administrative remedy available. Brensley's case lays bare what her campaign calls systemic failures in Massachusetts election integrity protections. A self-funded candidate who contributed $29,000 of her own money now fights to stay on the ballot, while the consultants who took her money remain unaccountable.